Reviews by ibbjamin:

Paid $6.75 for a 12oz corked bottle that needed a corkscrew to open. I pour into my Lost Abbey tulip to review.

Half inch fizzy off-white head. Transparent yet dark copper in color. Head only retains minimally on the inner rim of the tulip. No lacing.

Nose is of wild Belgian yeast, metallic funk, oak, barnyard and bacteria. Some mild fruits I can only describe as being somewhere between white grape, plum and red grape.

The sweet Belgian candi really comes through in the taste and really masks the other characteristics I noted in the nose. I mean, those characteristics are still there, but they become much more faint and hidden in the background. Apple and vinegar are noted more as I get to the bottom of the glass.

Mouth is light and comes off relatively thin. Carbonation is on the light side, but it still adds a pleasant fizz that makes this very drinkable. Finish isn't quite dry or wet, long nor crisp; just about right.

Very interesting beer. Glad I tried it, but for this price, I guess I prefer something much more sour, assertive and funky.

More User Reviews:

The nose is badly skunked, so I can't judge it fairly aroma-wise. It's all skunk, with almost no sweetened lambic coming through. Its flavor falls more in line with what I expected. The tartness is mild and simplistic, and it's ballasted by a hefty sugary sweetness. In many ways, it's very cider-esque. Too bad the retronasals also pick up the nasty skunk - in many ways, its presence is like a dog turd in a bowl of fruit punch. Faro, consider yourself ticked. Shame this one was utterly ruined by the green bottle...

2.34/5: Green bottles are worse than Robert Mugabe hosting a nude beach party

This was my first Faro so consider this review more of a review of the style as opposed to a review of the beer in comparison to others of the style.

I was impressed big time.

I first found this beer at Chateau LaCour, a wonderful beer bar/reggae club high in the Massif Central on the border between Ardeche and Haute-Loire. I noticed that nearly half of the drunken French hillbillies in the place were downing the stuff so after a few bottles of Chimay Blue and Rocheforte 10, I ordered a 750 of Faro. It was served in the bottle sans glass. Everybody else was drinking it right out of the 750 so I didnt think much of it. I just started downing it.

Instantly I was impressed by the big intense raspberry. This beer captures the essence of raspberry better than most. The fruit is just huge and the candied sugar makes it supremely drinkable. It was very similar to Lindemans Raspberry Lambic only much, much bigger and better. I followed up this first bottle with several other at home and in a glass.

Now I am generally not one to enjoy more than one fruit beer in a sitting but this one is exceptional. The fruits of this Faro are so big and the sugar and spice are so well balanced with the natural sourness of the lambic, I could sit and guzzle away at this one all night long. I loved it. I still love it and Im desperate to get my hands on some in the states.

A: Medium amber with very good clarity and a few floaters which are not cork as I was careful to not drive the corkscrew through the other side of cork. The floaters just sit there messersingly still in the barley carbonated beer. The cream, very light tan head falls to a very thin cap after a minute.

S: A funky lambic smell that is mainly goaty with wet horse blanket and a very faint cheese aroma. There is a light wheat aroma and a very light apricot like fruit ester. No hops, no diacetyl.

T: There is a somewhat sharp tartness immediately followed by a cloying sweetness. The sugar and fruitiness combine with the tart to produce an almost apple like impression with very little of the apple flavor but that sort of sweet tart balance. The finish is sweet and tart. There is nothing of hops and malt flavors in here while there is a light hops bitterness.

M: Moderately-high carbonation with with a medium-full body. There is no creaminess but it's not crisp either. No astringency.

O: If you are fan of Duchesse De Bourgogne you'll probably enjoy this beer it has the same very sweet some what tart character all be it with a much simple flavor profile. I'd enjoy this without the sweetness as that would be a pretty good lambic with a moderate sour/tartness to it. I probably would't buy this again.

Ah, then the taste. That sweet Lindemans taste that I really only care for in the Framboise because it has a fruity tartness. Sweet like sugared peaches, that maybe I ate in a barnyard. There is some redeeming acidity while the sugar tries to undo everything that your dentist has worked so hard to avoid. Lower carbonation while being somewhat refreshing.

It's not bad, but complexity and awesomeness are not its strong suits.

Presentation: It was poured from a green capped and corked 355ml bottle into a Lindemans fluted glass. The label has a description of the beer but there is no freshness date or abv%.

Appearance: It's dark in the glass with a bronzy amber colored body held up to light. It has good clarity and some visible carbonation. A good two finger head caps of the beer. It's off white in color and tightly packed. On the glass it leaves some spotty lace.

Smell: There are notes of white bread, raw grain and wheat malt with a hint of sweetened whiskey or sweet brandy.

Taste/Palate: It is candy sweet up front with notes of white bread, sweet caramel, and nougat. Some tangy wheat and yeast tartness just tries to sneak in as some fruit notes like sweet apple peach and pear lead into a stick sweet finish. The palate is medium bodied, smooth and slick. On the lips it feels sticky.

Notes: I'm not quite sure what to think of this beer. My palate is confused, is it a tart beer trying to be sweet or a sweet beer trying to be tart/sour. It is interesting if nothing else.

25 cl bottle (tiny!), purchased somewhere in Paris. "consumer avant de 18 mars, 2008" dating on the rear label. The nose here was of orange, nuts, earthiness, and Grand Marnier liquor. A moderate pour revealed a minor head, next to no lacing, but plenty of bubbles continuing to rise to the top. More earth, orange, honey, sweet and sour with more and more sour building up. I also pick up some mustiness and minor continued funk in the finish. Wish I could get a regular supply of this in the U.S.A. Nice dessert/aperitif beer

Pours an orangish-amber color with a white head. The aroma is a mixture of citrus, lemons, tart fruit and some sugar. The flavor is mainly lemony tartness with some sugar and light funk. This tastes about like liquid sweet tarts. Low carbonation and thin mouthfeel.

Only the second faro I have had and this is better than the Chapeau, but still not anything too memorable.

First faro I've tried with the promise that a faro makes someone who has yet to embrace the sourness of most lambics like the flavor profile of these spontaneously fermented beers. Definitely has the characteristic sour, slightly funky wild microbe flavor of lambics but indeed finishes with a sugary sweetness. Finishes a bit like a sweet white wine. Definitely an approachable, easy to drink sessionable brew that although not overly complex has enough character to keep you interested.

Mahogany brown in color with nice clarity. A fingernail of dull white caps it off. I smell dark candy sugar and a bit of an acidic edge. I taste sweet dark candy sugar and that intensity really builds as it reached the back of the palate. The mouth is very dry, crisp, and carbonated.